It’s rare we feature a New York wedding that’s as sweet and intimate as this one. Louisa & Danny’s meaningful ceremony was tucked away in a secluded urban garden, and followed by a tapas feast and a seriously delicious-sounding wedding cake.

Baby’s breath and roses adorned long tables, with hanging mason jars at the ceremony (an idea we might need to steal) and foliage-laced paper goods.

And the couple themselves, who didn’t take their smiles off their faces all day, looked so gorgeous, Louisa, in her vintage-inspired lace BHLDN wedding dress, and Danny in a sharp grey three piece suit.

Our Love Story

We met on match.com. We initially hit it off but I (bride) was too scared to pursue things further. Eventually we re-connected six months later. Danny was persistent and didn’t give up on getting that second date.

We started spending time together as friends, then became the best of friends and eventually fell in love. It all happened so quickly and felt right. We decided to take our relationship to a more serious level and moved in together a few months later.

After a year of living together in Brooklyn, Danny got down on one knee in the middle of our living room while I was frantically cleaning our place before a weekend getaway. I happened to be sweeping and knocked the box that the ring came in from underneath our dresser.

I picked it up as he walked into our bedroom and his face said it all. He was super bummed that I found the box and walked back into the living room. I followed him to tell him that I didn’t even know what the box was because I didn’t want him to be upset that I kinda knew!

But he was already down on one knee after he pulled the ring out of his backpack (since he was planning to propose on our trip) in the middle of our living room.

Danny was emotional and poured his heart out while my nervous laughter got the best of me (haha) but then turned into tears of joy. We were both so happy and savored the moment. We cried and then we laughed. Because that is just us.

The First Look

Our favorite moment was our “first look”. Danny stood in front of the venue with his back turned as I walked towards him with my heart beating out of my chest.

Once he turned around-it was water works. My heart filled up and we both immediately felt at ease. It was a beautiful raw moment.

We both also really enjoyed seeing our family and friends dance and celebrate the night away!

The Photography

A friend of mine booked Maria Doka to capture her family photo shoot and I fell in love with her images on Instagram.

Each image was candid, natural and embodied so much love.

When you look at her photographs, you get all the feels. I loved how she can capture those precious moments without it looking posed or forced.

The Inspiration

We went with an urban-rustic vintage theme and we were inspired by the venue itself. Our color palette was crème, gold and green.

The décor and outside space at our venue was breathtaking. The minute we saw it, we felt like we were in a far away place-away from the chaos of NYC.

We kept our wedding and outdoor ceremony intimate. We decided not to have a bridal party and invited our closest family and friends.

The Ceremony

We had the most amazingly talented Hope Mirlis officiate our ceremony.

She met with us and wanted to know all about our love story. Hope was genuinely interested in getting to know us not only has individuals but as a couple.

She incorporated a theme of love and magic into the ceremony being that Danny caught my attention with a card trick at a bar.

The processional music was ‘I Choose You’ by Sarah Barielles; recessional song was ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’ by Marvin Gaye and our first dance song was ‘That’s how strong my love is,’ by Otis Redding.

Advice for Other Couples

We wanted our wedding day to be simple without all the frills and fluff. It was a day to share with our closest loved ones and to just enjoy our special day with those who mean the most.

We planned our wedding day in such a short time (only four months from the time we got engaged) that we tried our best just to keep it simple and non-stressful. Although, there was still a lot to do in such a short amount of time!

Our biggest tip would be to do what makes you both happy. This is your wedding day and no one else’s. If you want to go small, then go small. If you want to go big, then go big.

Don’t let anyone influence your decision because in the end you can not make everyone happy. Plus you’re the one paying the bill haha unless of course you’re lucky enough to have some help.

Enjoy your day to the fullest extent with your partner and loved ones because it goes by in a flash. Don’t get caught up in the details because no one is going to notice them but you. It’s a celebration, so celebrate!

The Decor & Details

The bouquet, boutonnière, centerpieces and mason jars were all made up of crème colored garden roses, baby’s breath and greens.

The venue is absolutely gorgeous on it’s own and didn’t require additional décor other than the small bud vases on the tables and baby’s breath in the mason jars above the outdoor deck ceremony space.

We gave out a deck of cards (card trick love story) with mints as our favors, which were placed in organza bags wrapped with twine.

The Refreshments

Dinner service was family style and our guests got to taste a variety of Spanish tapas from our cocktail hour down to the sit-down dinner service.

White sangria was served during the cocktail hour along with delicious hors d’oeuvres. Everyone raved about how different and tasty every plate was.

Our wedding cake was not really a traditional cake but made up of homemade bite sized cake bites from Gooey & Co and served on a custom cake tower with three different flavors (original gooey butter cake, dark chocolate, and almond). SOOOO GOOD!

The Honeymoon

We booked a last minute trip down to Key West, Florida and had a great time!

Although Florida in August was super hot and humid, it was still a beautiful tropical trip. Felt like being out of the country but we were really just at the most southern point in the U.S. It is more of a tourist spot and has a lively downtown area.

We would recommend it for couples that enjoy going out to bars and restaurants but also are looking for adventurous things to do like snorkeling the Atlantic Reef!

Such a sweet wedding right? They look so happy! I love their proposal story too.

Thanks so much Maria Doka Photography, and of course Louisa & Danny for sharing their beautiful Brooklyn wedding with us.